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Over halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

Only leaders Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the race for continental football.

Few was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the standard he is playing at.

And it is not just the volume but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for Brentford.

His opener against the opposition was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1 percent.

He finds the target. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

Andrews won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have since occurred.

Results that, following their brilliant recent run, could prove all the more important in the race for European qualification.

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of the continent will become.